Fallen Marine awarded Bronze Star

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CAMP PENDLETON Sgt. William Stacey – a Marine with some serious swagger – was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star on Friday during an emotional ceremony on the parade deck of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment.

Stacey, 24, was lauded for his courage, leadership and depth of character by his platoon leader, 1st Lt. Maxwell Bernstein, and battalion commander Lt. Col. Robert Weiler.

Stacey, a section leader with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, died Jan. 31, 2012, while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Stacey was awarded the medal for two separate actions. He died after being struck by an improvised explosive device.

The 2/4 is adopted by the city of San Clemente. City officials attended the ceremony.

Stacey's death was later the topic of national news after his family found a letter he'd written in case of his death. Unlike most service members, who address letters to family, Stacey wrote his to “the children of the world.” The letter was first made public by the Seattle Times and later on ABC World News.

“No award, no memorial, and no name on a wall can possibly codify the immeasurable impact Will had on the lives of those gathered here today,” Bernstein said. “What I cherished most about him in life was his complexity. To look at Will on the surface, one might simply see an affable, funny, square-jawed Marine festooned in tattoos that ranged from patriotic – the kneeling soldier and the American flag – to the humorously absurd – a skull that seemed to suffer from Ebola virus and a misspelled moto tat. And if you got only one moment with Will, then you were probably left with one impression: “Man, that Marine's got some serious swagger.”

Weiler told those attending the ceremony of Stacey's bravado and heroism. Stacey, of Seattle, was honored with the medal for heroic action in combat against the enemy while serving in Weapons Company in Afghanistan from September 2011 to Jan. 31, 2012, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. On Nov. 26, 2011, his section came under intense machine gun fire, according to a statement released by the Marine Corps. Stacey led his Marines through fire into tactically advantageous terrain and achieved fire superiority against the enemy.

Weeks later on Dec. 13, 10 to 12 enemy fighters in separate fighting positions engaged Stacey's section with AK-47 and PKM fire. Though outnumbered, Stacey held his ground under intense fire, the Marine Corps' statement read. Even after the enemy reinforced its fire power, Stacey and his squad continued to fight for hours. While his ammunitions ran low, he maneuvered his squad back to the patrol base.

“He volunteered to return to the fray time and time again because he was a warrior in the truest sense of the word, a man who fought not because he hated what was in front of him, but because he loved what was behind him,” Bernstein said.

The courage and leadership that Stacey showed with his Marines was no surprise to Bob Stacey. He said he and his son often spoke about what it meant to have courage and that that quality was critically important to his son.

“I used to say courage is doing what people need you to do when they need you to do it,” said Bob Stacey, who is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington. “It's not being crazy and not being oblivious to danger. It's doing what people who depend on you need you to do. I take away a great deal of pride for a man who did what the guys he led needed him to do. He did it really well and he brought every single guy home.”

Stacey grew up in Seattle. He excelled in sports, especially golf and baseball. He went to Shasta Junior College but decided that wasn't for him. He wanted to do something hard and something no one else could help him with, his father said.

Robin Stacey, a professor of history at the University of Washington, was overwhelmed with the admiration and support Marines from the 2/4 showed her son. She said she will always remember the boy, who was passionate and was always the life-of-the party. She will remember his humor and his stories.

“He died happy, at the top of his game. He was about to become engaged. In my darkest moments, I mourn he didn't get to live his life. At the same time, he died proud of becoming the man he was and he died leading his men and making the ultimate difference.”

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